Job sharing is a flexible working arrangement where one role is shared across two employees, allowing for greater work-life balance. Pippa Robertson (left) and Alex de Valera (right) recently shared a role as tutors on the Crew Academy East course ‘Passport to Production’. They sat down with us to discuss the many benefits of job sharing, and to put forward their case for seeing more options for flexible-working within the Film & TV industry.
Pippa and Alex both have extensive experience in the Film & TV industry. Pippa started out as an AD in 2008 before moving into Production. She then went on to work for both Screen Skills Ireland and Screen Guild Ireland. She has had a broad and successful career and is raising 3 children while continuing her journey within the Film & TV Industry. Alex began working in Dublin and London in both Production and Sustainability. She owns Ecoscope Ltd., a consultancy company that trains sustainability practitioners and helps productions achieve their sustainability goals.
Anyone who has worked in the Film & TV industry knows how taxing it can be. With the recent opportunity to job share, Pippa and Alex reflect on a modern approach to working in our industry…
So, how did you get into doing a job share?
ALEX: When I was first contacted about being a Tutor for Passport to Production (P2P), I wasn’t aware that a job share would be on the table. Training, being a mentor, and supporting others has always been a huge passion of mine, from my college years as an S2S mentor in Trinity College and as a Crisis Volunteer during the Covid pandemic. However, working full-time in Film has made it difficult to continue pursuing these passions. When Jade Travers, the manager of the Crew Academy East (CAE), contacted me about the opportunity to tutor and do so through a job share, I was overjoyed. It meant that I would be able to take part without having to compromise.
PIPPA: P2P is a phenomenal display of progress with regards to training our crew and new entrants. I knew I wanted to be involved from the get-go. However, it became apparent from the outset that I would never manage to do it all on my own. Jade came back to me with the option of job sharing and I immediately accepted. The expressions ‘Family Friendly Policies’ and ‘Work Life balance’ have been thrown around quite a bit over the last couple of years, but this was the first time it had landed right in my lap.
What techniques or hacks made it work well?
PIPPA: Alex and I were able to coordinate a methodology that worked perfectly for us both. I knew I couldn’t do certain days and she was unavailable at certain times of the day, so we concocted a plan that worked perfectly. We only met in person for the first time on the last day of the job!
ALEX: The consistent communication and support we received from CAE was indispensable. They helped structure the job share in such a way that the workload was evenly distributed and worked to both mine and Pippa’s strengths. And anytime there was a question, it was always answered.
PIPPA: Alex and I would chat daily and relay to each other what was happening in the course. We had voice notes flying back and forth. It was such a smooth journey. Furthermore, the 15 course participants were benefitting from the knowledge of two completely different industry perspectives, getting the very best from us both.
ALEX: Working with Pippa was seamless. In many ways we had the same approach and where we differed, we complemented one another. It felt like we had worked together for years. I had never done a job share before and expected that there was going to be a few hiccups along the way purely because it was something new and different. However, splitting a job with Pippa was thoroughly enjoyable and a truly supportive experience that I would recommend to anyone.
Overall, would you consider the experience of job sharing a success?
PIPPA: From my perspective, it was extremely successful. Not only having the workload halved and allowing me to continue with my home responsibilities, but also having someone to bounce ideas off and brainstorm with. In this case, it really was a matter of ‘two brains are better than one’. I felt fully supported and even though we were never in the same room, the teamwork essence was there throughout.
ALEX: It was highly successful. We were able to tutor a cohort of people in a collaborative way in which they had the opportunity to learn from and be supported by two individuals instead of one. A job share not only benefits the people doing the job, but it can also benefit everyone else involved as they get to absorb and be exposed to more experiences and ways of operating.
No one wants to have to step away from the jobs they love, and so an alternative approach to the industry’s employment models may be worth considering. Be it raising a family, launching a new business, or just feeling overwhelmed by a five or six day work week, there are many reasons to want to prioritize balance over earnings.
A final word from Pippa and Alex…
PIPPA: My experience in the industry has been extremely broad, from working on set, to training and support, and now teaching. I will always be involved one way or another, it is where my heart is. But the question is, is it truly family friendly? For me, as family life kicked in and the babies began to arrive, it became increasingly obvious that something had to change. This is the first time I have ever had the option of being able to job share, and that statement alone says a lot. We still have a very long way to go in this industry to ensure that we do not lose huge talent resources due to family demands. The consequence of that is not only that the individuals have to rethink their entire working life and their next steps, but that the industry is losing crew, and with them they take their experience and expertise.
ALEX: There is often a misconception that the term “Sustainability” only refers to the environment and the ‘social’ aspect of sustainability is often forgotten. Well-being, welfare in the workplace and having a work/life balance, to name but a few, are also considered important aspects of the umbrella term. It is becoming increasingly clear how imperative it is that we start looking at the social impacts of how we operate in the film industry. In 1987, the United Nations defined Sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In many ways, job sharing echoes this and offers a work model that is more accessible and accommodating. In a job share, not only is the ‘job’ getting done, but you are giving two individuals the ability to continue offering their skills, experience, and talent to the workplace.
If you would like to learn more about job sharing, here are a few useful links: